A Convergent Model for Autistic Flourishing: How Research and Experience Highlight the Interplay Among Fit, Adaptation, and Accommodation

Please join us for our Autism Acceptance Month Keynote presentation. Our speaker will be Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of Science. Holden Thorp became Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals in October 2019. He came to Science from Washington University, where he was provost from 2013 to 2019 and professor from 2013 to 2023. He is currently a professor of chemistry and medicine at George Washington University and on leave to serve as the Editor-in-Chief at Science. Despite the intense rhetoric that sometimes attends discussions about flourishing for autistic people without an intellectual disability, there are clear commonalities in science and experience that provide for more agreement than is represented. Two things are true: biological differences attend different parts of the spectrum AND there are common traits that extend all the way from Level 3 to Level 1 autism. These two seemingly contradictory facts suggest that an approach to success for autistic individuals involves balancing fit, adaptation, and accommodation in ways that validate the humanity and experience of every individual. Thorp will present evidence from interviews and the research literature. Registration is required for this event. Please register in advance at the link provided.